Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 29 swung into 2014 on a clear, snow-covered New Year's Day with their annual High Noon Golf Tournament.

Twenty-two players brought a club and ball out to the field behind Syl Apps Community Centre on Wednesday to show off their golf skills in about a foot of snow and chilly temperatures no higher than -11 C.

"A group of members got yakking and challenged each other to a game in the snow," he said.

That first game was at the Paris Grand Golf and Country Club on Paris Links Road, but the tradition has survived as a smaller event focused on hitting a ball into a hula hoop about 100 metres out.

"It's a fun way for all of us to get together and welcome in the new year," Link said.

Through the years, the Legion has played through water hazards, snow up to their knees and everything in between.

This reporter was surprised more golfers didn't bring coloured balls easier to see in the snow.

"Some of us do," said Link, producing a black one as he got ready to tee off.

Groups of four players took shots past the ball diamond at Syl Apps centre - which was being flooded as a rink at the time - as two officials kept tabs on the attempts.

Longtime Legion 29 member and High Noon golfer Henry Foster nailed his first attempt to sink the ball in the hula hoop with two strokes, as did Irene Adeney, one of the few women participating in the game.

They tied in the first round and went on to face each other in a final round to decide the winner.

Proving the game isn't without its risks, Foster narrowly missed taking one in the head after a big shot from another player.

"The playoff was a different story after much foot traffic had churned up the course significantly, but Henry came through with a clutch chip from about three feet to win," Link said, adding with a laugh. "To quote one of the players, 'It was a short par 5.'"

Link said this was Adeney's first attempt at the High Noon Golf Tournament and "she did very well."